How to Write a Great Resume (Part 1)

Job hunting is a paradox. If you get the chance to practice it a lot, it means you aren’t very good at it. And the moment it works, you stop doing it, so you never really ingrain the good habits.

I help people live extraordinary lives! And your job is a big part of your life. Clients have asked me to review their resume and tell them what I think. Usually it’s “Arrrrrgggghhhhh! You didn’t actually send this out, did you? Like, to a recruiter? Or a headhunter? Or heaven forbid, to Facebook? After all, people do check out their prospective boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, wives, spousal equivalents, and polyamorous family units on Facebook before they decide to take the plunge.”

Some people throw together a resume quickly, just to get it over with. They save effort in their job hunt, but end up in a job they hate. For years. Wouldn’t it be smarter to put in more time and effort up front, to get a job you love? Of course it would. The question was rhetorical. If you’re going to do a resume, do it right.>

Resumes Don’t Get You Hired

No one was ever hired on the strength of a resume, but plenty of people were cruelly discarded like Paris Hilton’s last-season must-have fashion accessories, and never called in because their resume didn’t do its job. Resumes don’t get you hired; if they do anything, they disqualify you from a job.

Your resume’s only job is to distinguish you from the other candidates in a way that gets them tossed in the rubbish heap, and gets you called in for an interview.